W. Va. Council Backs Same-Sex Civil Marriage

Morgantown's City Council is asking the Legislature to legalize same-sex civil marriages in West Virginia.

The Dominion Post (http://bit.ly/1cVBXar ) reports that council members unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday asking lawmakers to approve marriage equality for gay couples. This would include health and pension benefits and tax treatment.

West Virginia doesn't allow same-sex marriage or recognize those that occurred in other states.

The council also unanimously endorsed a bill introduced by Senate President Jeff Kessler that would make it unlawful for employers and landlords to discriminate against individuals based on their sexual orientation.

Both resolutions were presented by the Morgantown Human Rights Commission.

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The fact that prospective adoptive parents are both of the same gender is not a reason for the courts to order a child to be removed to a "traditional" family, a case headed for the W. Virginia state Supreme Court argues.

In a first for the South, Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban has been overturned, with a federal judge ruling that the voter-approved amendment is unconstitutional and declaring the move "another moment history when We the People becomes more inclusive."